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“Hmmm….how much is the potion?” Artus asked. He was stocking up on potions at home, for emergency purposes. Seeing as how the country was currently under tension from disputed between Kale ad Grandora, Artus wanted to make sure in case anything were to happen, he had an emergency kit prepared for the worst. Although Grandora had been making threats, people just knew that Diaz wasn’t the sort of person that would resolve things by violence, nor was Kazu. They were good friends, but eve since the death of Kazu’s father, things got heated between them. In any case, it was good to be prepared for any sort of surprises that may come in the near future.

“It’s 7 Gold.” The shop owner said. “You’re in luck, ‘cus that’s the sale price, son. It was 10 Gold a week ago.” Artus knew the shop owner was the type of person to scam people for money. Most shop owners are like that, but the inner cheapskate was high in this one. Artus took out a couple of gold coins from his pocket, and showed it to the shop owner.

“I only got 5, man.” He said as he held it out for the shop owner to see. He shook his head in disbelief, and sighed.

“Whatever, that’s fine. Your mom probably didn’t give you enough money.” He said as he handed Artus the potion. Artus gave him a sort of irritated look, but tried to ignore that comment. He wasn’t the type of person to get into random conflicts. He put the potion in a little drawstring bag that was attached to his belt. He wound up the string, and tightened it snugly, to avoid any uncomfortable walking, as well as keeping the bag from dangling below his waist. He turned around and started walking to the front of the store, to the exit. A he got closer, he noticed a sort of yelling, coming from outside. Similar to a crowd , or riot. He suddenly had a feeling in his gut. Normally, Artus would ignore it, but something about this one got his attention. He opened the door, and right in that instance, the front of the store burst into flames, and exploded the complete front of the store. The wood splintered, and flew apart like flying daggers, and Artus was sent flying to the side. He lay down on his stomach, and tried to get up. He looked forward, but his vision was getting blurry, due to his close proximity of the explosion. He felt blood trickle down the side of his head, as it rolled of and made a small puddle next to him. Artus looked forward, and saw a few men walking into what was left of the store, and grabbed the shop owner by the throat.

“Kill him.” Said one of the men, as the other threw the shop owner to the ground and rammed him with the blade. Artus closed his eyes, as the men walked up to Artus, who was on the brink of passing out. He looked as they grabbed him by the head and smashed it hard against the wall. Artus blacked out.

------------------------------

Creak…Creak…. The sound of creaking wood monotonously repeated itself over and over. Artus groaned, as he leaned against a wall on his left side. He opened his eyes, and found himself located in a small box-like carriage. He looked around and saw nine others, from his town, all sitting there with there heads held down. They had an expression on their face. An expression of fear, and depression. “W-Where are we…?” Artus quietly said. He awaited a response from the other people, but they weren’t talking. He waited a few seconds before asking again. “Are you guys gonna answer or what?” He said again, this time agitated. His head was hurting, and he was feeling an extreme sense of discomfort. Suddenly a voice spoke from the corner.

“Isn’t it obvious…” A young man said. He held up his hands which were wrapped by rope. “We’re going to Galvez Prison…there’s no hope for us…” He said, as he frowned and lowered his had. Artus sighed and looked to his other side, where he saw a girl, probably in her early twenties. He saw her bawling her eyes out, and whimpering.

“I can’t die…not yet…” She said. “I heard the soldiers talking….they said we are going to be fed to some monster…” She cried some more, this time tears trickling down her cheeks. Artus sat there, trying to loosen the rope around his hands. Artus concentrated, trying to use his magic to free himself. He knew a basic Lightning-based spell, which if used properly, could burn the rope right off his hands. He sat there for a few seconds, and suddenly his hands started to glow a blue aura, then releasing sparks of electricity. The sparks cackled, and smoke started to come out of the ropes. And then in an instance, the rope became burnt and blackened from spell, and loosened the grip on Artus’ hands.

“You know magic?!” Another prisoner spoke. Artus looked around and nodded, as everyone’s faces suddenly lit up with happiness. “Great! You can free us!” One of the men leaned over to Artus, signaling him to break the rope. Artus hesitated for a moment, but then reached over to his roped hands.

“This might hurt a bit.” Artus said. Normally, his spell would be powerful enough to harm someone, but by manipulating the amount of mana used, he can use it for petty tasks such as this. He placed his hands over the prisoner’s and soon enough the sparks started to form. The rope started to blacken.

“Yes! It’s work-“

BOOM! Suddenly, the entire carriage shifted to the side, as if it was hit by something. All the prisoners, including Artus fell to one side. The carriage stopped moving. Artus’ heart stopped, as he waited silently with the others. “ What was that…?” He said. Suddenly, the carriage shifted once more, this time causing everyone inside hit the sides repeatedly, as if the carriage was falling down off of a cliff. In a matter of seconds, the carriage made a loud sound, as if it just hit something hard, and it shattered the side open. Water started to fill the broken carriage, which was slowly sinking. “Oh crap…” Artus cussed, and he tried to hold his breath. He looked around and saw that the others were frantically looking for a way out of the carriage. Artus quickly placed his hand on the top of the carriage, away from the water. “Thunderbolt!” He said, as he partially blew off the side of the carriage, also shocking some of the other prisoners, who were in close range. Artus climbed out of the carriage and several others followed out. Artus stared helplessly, as nearly half of the others attempted to get out, but drowned from the weight of the carriage. Artus looked around, and saw there in the middle of a lake, with a waterfall rushing above. He looked around some more and saw the bodies of Grandoran soldiers laying around in the water, and near some rocks. Artus quickly turned around and saw the prisoner were running away, all in different directions. “Wait! Shouldn’t we….stick together?” But it was too late. “I guess that just leaves me…”

---------------------------

A Few months later:

Meryl Forest*South East of Kale
Info: A large forest south of Kale. Notable dangerous wildlife include wolves.

Artus had been travelling for a while now. His original intent was to find Kale right away, but he had been spending most of his time in another town near Nalan, which surprisingly, is doing fine. However, he figured since it was too close to his hometown, it would be too much of a risk to go through the same experience. He needed to go to Kale, in hopes of finding a new place to live, and possibly make some new friends. Although the thought of living with his relatives occurred in his mind, the only thing holding him back was his unhealthy relationship with his uncle and cousin. “I think it’s time for a break.” He perched himself on to a large boulder, and took out a metal canteen containing water. “That tastes good.” He said to himself, as he took multiple sips of the cool liquid. He looked around the forest and noticed its peacefulness. Why couldn’t it always be like this… He thought to himself. He longed for the times when he was little, and there was none of this civil war nonsense going on. Back when Kazu’s father was in charge, as well as Diaz’s. However, it seems as if both of their passing away has caused the country to go into turmoil. Artus closed his eyes, and meditated, wandering off into the sounds of nature. Birds chirping, leaves rustling, wind blowing. He opened his eyes. From the corner of his eyes he noticed two people walking on the path right in front of him. Artus recognized them right away. Their black and gold armor, and their distinctive spiked shoulder gauntlets made them easily recognizable. They were Grandoran soldiers. Artus stood up top the boulder, and backed away, avoiding their sight. He cautiously observed them as they walked past Artus, not noticing. One of them had a helmet on, but no visor, so his face was completely exposed. The other one had no helmet on, but was clearly much older than the other one. He had a grey mustache and grey hair. Artus watched as they continued along the path, on their merry way.

“I should probably wait a few minutes before going.” Artus decided. He knew that the soldiers were probably looking for touble, and the last thing he needed was a butt-kicking and a one-way trip to Galvez Prison.

"Attack!"
Everyone charged at the invaders. The mighty Aqua Tribe stood strong in times of peril. With their water magic, they were indeed tough opponents.
Despite this, the forces just kept killing the tribe, member by member, in a rather inglorious, gory manner.
Undine just stood there, scared. Just then, she was approached by two soldiers, both of which managed to pull her away.

"Don't worry little lady..." the soldiers gave a creepy smile, before they were shortly murdered by Shark, another member of the tribe.

"Undine, RUN! Return when you can fight. For now, it is too dangerous..."

She felt like a coward, a disgrace to her tribe for leaving them behind on that very day...

A few months later

Mercyl ForestSoutheast of Kale
Info:a dense rainforest filled with plant life and animal life alike. The inhabitants are one with the land.

Undine walked through the dense Rainforests, the Forest of Gugallan, where trees stood tall and beings roamed freely. She was an aquatic lifeform, but she knew her way around, seeing that she has been here before.
She was still thinking about a past memory. A rather traumatic and sad one at that. She saw her entire tribe getting genocided. It wasn't a lovely sight. She was a coward, a fool. A tear trickled down her cheek.
In an attempt to forget about these bad memories, she simply wiped her tears and went towards a river - Gugallan River, a clean river suited for any aquatic lifeform. Undine then cheered up a little. She literally took of the shells that censored her chest, and her long, silky cloth that she wrapped around her waist, too, and hung the latter on a tree. With that, she dipped her stark naked, shining slender body in the river, and started to bathe....

As she bathed, she started to hum a sonf that could easily seduce men. Or at least, she was working on it, so for now it's just a really beautiful song, something you'd expect out of a siren. She washed her pure body in the holy fluids of the natural world...

The path through the forest was getting narrower, but remained in a good condition. It was three days since Natalia left her luxurious home and her journey was turning out to be boring. There was nothing worth looking at along the roads she had travelled, she had to sleep in shitty inns filled with suspicious characters and the stuff she had to eat could hardly be counted for food. I have to endure. The Rose Manor will be liberated from those barbarians. Natalia decided it was time for a break – she had been walking non-stop for almost half an hour since her last stop. She briefly considered sitting down in the shadow of a great oak, but since she could get her clothes dirty, she rather just leaned on the tree with her shoulder. Soon after she stopped, she heard some voices coming from the direction she had just come from. Natalia was able to make out two different male voices. It sounded like their conversation was a heated one as the voices were raised.

Natalia kept looking in the direction from where the voices were coming, trying to locate their source. Soon enough, she was able to see the two men coming her way. It was obvious they were soldiers as they were wearing identical black and gold armour, with the exception of helmets which only one of them wore. The pair seemed to notice her too. They stopped for a few seconds and whispered something to each other before continuing towards her.

“What are you doing here, girly? Are you lost in the woods? We can help you out?” The one with the helmet shouted when they came within 15 yards of Natalia, with wide grins shining from their faces.

Natalia straightened up and slowly moved her hands towards the handles of her swords. “Who do you think you are, talking to me like that.” Natalia answered coldly, her eyes looking at them with contempt. “You should really learn your place.”

The man with no protective headwear laughed and turned to his companion. “Looks like this one has some attitude. Sounds like we could get a nice ransom for her as well.” The other one nodded in agreement.

Natalia tightly wrapped her fingers around the swords’ handles and clenched her teeth. It looks like there’s no other way, I’ll have to fight to keep my freedom. Those two worms are going down. As the two soldiers started charging towards her, she unsheathed her swords and prepared to block their attacks.

“Remember, don’t kill her! She isn’t worth anything, if she’s dead. Just disarming her should be enough to capture her.” Natalia could hear one of them shout to the other.

Then they came at her each wielding a large sword that collided with hers with loud metallic clinks. Natalia managed to deflect the first blows well enough, but realised she was in a big disadvantage on pure strength alone. She opted to dodge the next series of strikes by backing away to buy some time. I can’t get close enough to them for an attack, but their heavy armour should slow them down enough for me to keep dodging their swords. However, I can’t keep it up forever. I’ll try with some magic next; I just need some time to concentrate enough to cast a spell.

Coelnar crouched down in the bushes next to his father, their eyes tracking the movement of a deer, as it slowly began to trot across the snow, only a few meters from their hiding place. Coelnar's father waited until the deer stopped moving, stopping in front of a bush across the clearing to eat, then slowly nodded to his son. Coelnar pulled out his axe, slowly and quietly so that he didn't disturb the deer. However, just as he was about to attack, the deer raised its head, staring at something in the distance, then sprinted away, seemingly scared by something. Coelnar looked in the direction that the deer had, and could see nothing at first. It was especially hard to tell, since he didn't know exactly what he was looking for. His father, however, had sharp eyes, and pointed to a patch of sky that was slightly higher up the mountain. "Smoke." he said quietly, eyes widening in fear. "There's a fire in Sylvain.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Coelnar asked, camly. "We have to help our people, after all. It's our duty to look after them." His father smiled and nodded in agreement, sending Coelnar running through the trees towards their home. The animals up here wouldn't give them any trouble. The largest predators were the wildcats, and all but the largest just weren't large enough to attack a human on his own, never mind a pair, so Coelnar had a fairly peaceful trip. The smoke had died down by the time he reached the outskirts of the village, making Coelnar mentally kick himself. I was too hasty. I should have known that it would have died down by the time I made it here. Now a day's hunting is lost.

Sylvain

Coelnar remained mildly irritated with himself, and sat on one of the rocks outside the village entrance, his head in his hands, until a piercing scream rang through the valley, making him shoot to his feet as his father finally caught up with him, panting for breath. "I'm not as young as I used to be." he panted, looking at Coelnar, only for his eyes to widen when he heard another scream, this one sounding like it came from deep inside, full of pain and fear. That voice... Coelnar thought, his pulse racing with fear and shock.Mother! This realisation made him determined to stop whatever was happening. Someone's hurting her. They're hurting my mother! he thought, with a momentary, unfamiliar flash of anger. Only his father stopped him from rushing into the city right there and then.

"If you run in there, you could get yourself killed, son." he chastised. "Here. Head along the outside of the city. We'll be able to see what's happening from those trees." he said, gesturing towards a small clump of forest that overlooked the plaza. Coelnar saw the reason in this,and followed his father along the outskirts of town, occasionally catching a glimpse of an armored figure walking along the otherwise empty streets. No-one he recognized was there, and his worries grew.Who are these soldiers? What are they doing here?

As they reached the trees, he saw his father's eyes widen,and his skin pale as he overlooked the plaza, increasing his fear of what he was about to see, what was happening to his home. Coelnar looked down. It was a scene of horror. Every member of the Polrin was being tied roughly to a cart by the armored figures that he'd seen. There was a flag stuck in the ground, with the crest of Grandora emblazoned on both sides. The soldiers laughed, throwing torches into the houses, in an attempt to raze all that remained of his home. Coelnar was angry, of course, but going down there would surely be suicide. He kept his fury sealed, and was trying to think of a solution when he saw something that pushed him over the edge.

His mother was being roughly tied to the cart, and she had a gash along her back that was dripping blood. For the first time in his life, Coelnar experienced the feeling of pure, undulated rage, pulling his axe from its sheath on his back, and sprinting down towards the soldiers in the plaza with a primal, inhuman roar. Everything was a blur, and the next thing he knew, one of the soldiers lay on the ground before him, lifeless.

The anger disappeared as quickly as it came, as Coelnar realized how much trouble he was in. The soldiers circled him, their swords and spears raised, ready to run him through without a thought. If I try to concentrate on my magic, they'll kill me where I stand. It's over. I've thrown my life away. A tear welled up in his eye as he looked at the village and his people. He was scared, as well. What would death be like? Would it be peaceful? Or terrible? I was a fool. A stupid, stupid fool. What have I even achieved? The death of one man, one enemy. That's all.

But he'd forgotten something. Someone. His father came sprinting down the ridge, desperate to save his son. He seemed to have the strength of ten men, launching himself into the middle of the soldiers, swinging his dagger and making sure they couldn't get near enough to kill either of them. "Go, Coelnar!" he yelled. "Run, run for your life!"

Coelnar abandoned his honour, and sprinted through a gap between the soldiers. He ran, without a thought for anyone but himself, until he reached the edge of the trees, when he heard a shout, and turned to look back, seeing his father caught in a lock, the dagger at his throat. His eyes met those of the man now holding the dagger. The man stared at him, and gave a savage smile as he cut his father's throat.

"Son, I will not let you die here today!" his father said. he was wounded, and did not have much time left. Keres was speechless, and knew he just had to listen for his father to give him a command. "I will grant you a secound chance!" his father said, to Keres' suprise. Before he could react properly, his father chanted a spell, a spell that would disable both his emotions and his memories. "I am sorry, son. You will avenge us. I know you will. That is why..." He coughed, and knew he had little time left. He used his last breath to chant a teleporting-spell, and Keres vanished.

The Unknown Forest

It was quiet, deadly quiet. So quiet that no sounds could be heard. No birds, no wind, no nothing. Keres found himself lying on the ground, under the late evening, it appeared. He was in a small clearing inside of a dense forest, and the dead grass and vegetation suggested that nobody were around, or had been around for quite some time. He wasn't tired or anything, and stood up and looked around. As he had guessed, he found himself at an abandoned graveyard, where different types of tomb stones rose from the ground around him. "Where am I?" he said in a low tone, and was suprised by the sudden breaking of the forest's silence. It made him aware of.. himself. "Who.. am I?" he then asked himself before going through the basics inside his head. "My name is Keres..... something. I am..... 19 years old?" by judging his own apperance, he could only guess. he was slender yet muscular, dressed in an elegant outfit covered by a dark cape with an eerie hood. he had gauntlets and greaves, and some rather nasty metal claws on his right hand.. "A weapon?". He made a few slashes through the air, and felt skilled. "Fair enough". On the ground next to where he was lying, he saw a football-sized Crystal orb that emitted a grim energy. "This... is mine?"

Well then. It appeared Keres had no memories of anything besides a few details of himself. but he didn't really make a big deal out of it. "What I don't remember is probably not worth remembering.". He then decided to leave the graveyard, and headed east towards an archway covered in ivys and thornes and guessed it was an entrance. He then found himself in the quiet of the forest, and knew he should probably find shelter for the night, as he caught glimpses of moving shadows in the murky distant. Holding the orb in his hands, he put on his hood, and continued walking.
After a few hours of walking, observing his followers, who turned out to be a giant wolf, a revenant and a small group of soliders, he came across a tavern. Perhaps they could provide him with shelter for the night. He entered. The atmosphere in the tavern was rather grim, and it reeked with the feeling of death. Keres found a seat in a dark corner, and waited for the fat, sassy maid to come towards him. "What'cha want, hun?" She asked. "I would like to stay the night" Keres said, motionless. This apparently frightened the maid, as she eased up her tone a bit. "We'll see what we can do, I'll get 'ya something to drink" She said, before hurrying away. Keres laughed. her fear amused him. He then took up his orb, and glanced into it. What was this? It had a familiar value to him, though it did raise a lot of questions. Was he a magician?

Suddenly, the orb started floating in front of him, glowing in a dim light. Keres wasn't suprised. He had heard of these kind of orbs before. They were crystal orbs, usually owned by necromancers. So.. He's a necromancer? Sounds fair. The revenant from before hadn't made any moves to harm him in any ways. He moved his clawed gauntlet over the orb, and the energy inside it seemed to motion the movement of the claw. "Now, that's pretty cool" he said, happy that he had learnt a minor detail about his past. He would have to keep the orb close to him in the future, as it might reveal more of his past.

(OCC: No fighting yet. Just chillin' at the tavern, waiting for Wayjun)

Ethan Daggett: Post 1

Ethan Daggett
Meryl Forest

Ethan walked through Meryl Forest, along the banks of a river, he knew that the river lead north, to Kale, so he decided to stick to it. He had been travelling north to Kale for a while now; he planned to stay the night in an inn when he arrived there, and hopefully get to work on assembling a new crew. He would also try to get some info on the location of Ocean’s Blade whilst he was there, but wasn’t hopeful.

The forest was a mixed bag of nature; many dangerous animals roamed the forest floors, whilst smaller, docile critters could be seen amongst the trees and hidden in the bushes. The trees within the forest were of varying heights, some trees towered above the others, while others hung low enough to grab the canopy. Before he had reached the river, Ethan often had to trudge through bushes and branches, although the ground was relatively clear along the banks. The river was clear and shallow, shallow enough for the water to just reach your waist. Ethan spotted the occasional fish or crab, although wildlife seemed to be rare in the water.

Ethan thought about his plans for when he arrived in Kale while he walked, until he was interrupted by distant, beautiful singing, he felt almost drawn to it, but made a point to continue heading straight towards Kale.

As he neared the source of the singing it became louder and clearer, therefor harder for Ethan to resist, It wasn’t nearly as strong as the songs of sirens he’d heard while sailing, but certainly similar, he had witnessed songs strong enough to almost lure his crew members off the Myrydian and into the freezing cold water. Ethan gave in and began walking towards the source.

Ethan soon neared the source of the singing, within the river was a woman, singing a beautiful song. Within the bushes behind the woman were what looked like three soldiers, Diaz’s men to be exact. They looked at the woman in the water and seemed to be discussing plans; Ethan shuffled behind a tree to stay out of sight. The three soldiers nodded to each other, and then began emerging out of the bush; they slowly approached the woman, weapons drawn. Would they really attack a defenceless woman? Ethan drew his flintlock pistol. He emerged from behind the tree.
“Hey!” The three soldiers turned to him, he cocked the pistol and fired a power shot across the river, the bullet narrowly avoided the head of the one soldier without a helmet.
“Damn it,” Ethan mumbled to himself, the three soldiers were certainly now alerted to his presence.
“Listen, I dunno why these guys want you dead, but if you want to stay alive you might not want to bring every man within a mile radius towards you” Ethan said as he drew his cutlass.

(I described Undine as defenceless, as Ethan doesn't realise she has two guns, powerful water magic, and skills in hand to hand combat.)

At the end of every post I’ll note down how much ammo Ethan has within his flintlock, just to keep a track of it.

Undine then managed to detect the hiding soldiers. She then proceeded to toss a few orbs of water at the soldiers. Next, she noted the man near her warning her about the hiding men.
She simply summoned a water whip to grab her silk cloth to wrap around her waist. Next, she used another to wrap the man, before she carried him in her arms using her great strength, near her completely bare chest.

She was literally standing on the river, running along it. "Sorry there, that's what I do," Undine spoke as she continued to dash on the water, with the soldiers dashing behind. With haste, she used the water to distract the soldiers, tossing geysers and projectiles at them.

"Take a deep breath, lad..." Undine spoke as she dived into the deeper parts of the river to hide from the remaining soldiers, before diving even further into the ground. It was almost like she was swimming, when she was actually digging theough solid rock. In a matter of seconds, they had entered an inner cavern that seemed to be hidden by a waterfall.

Undine's cloth was damaged by digging too hard, so she was stark naked. "Well, we're safe now. Sorry about that. My name is Undine Pandora Aqua, of the Aqua Tribe. Nice to meet you. What is your name, lad?"

Undine smiled and looked as if she was used to being naked. You probably wouldn't be paying attention to the fact that her ears are fins...

Ethan Daggett: Post 2

Ethan Daggett
A Cave near a river, hidden by a waterfall
Meryl Forest

It all happened so quickly, within a matter of seconds Ethan was in the arms of this mysterious woman, sprinting across the river surface
“Take a deep breath, lad…” She said as she dived into the water, and then seemingly dived into the sand beneath the water, Ethan closed his eyes to prevent the dirt getting into them, and by the time he opened them the pair were inside a cavern, water gushing over the entrance.
“Well, we’re safe now. Sorry about that. My name is Undine Pandora Aqua, of the Aqua Tribe. Nice to meet you. What is your name, lad?”
Lad? Ethan was sure he was older than her. Ethan dusted the sand and dirt off his coat and trousers, he checked to make sure he still had both his gun and his sword, he did.
“Ethan Daggett. Captain Ethan Daggett if you’re feeling formal enough” Ethan said as he stood up “Definitely not Lad”

Ethan then stood up.
“Hush, I smell soldiers…” Undine said. Smell? She could smell soldiers? Ethan reached into his pocket and grabbed ammunition for his flintlock, he loaded it.

Ethan wasn’t quite sure what had just happened, the swimming through the dirt and whatnot, but he could ask questions later.

Ethan couldn’t smell the soldiers, but he was beginning to hear them, it was most likely the three from before, although they may have gathered company by now. It sounded like they were just through the entrance, past the waterfall. The water was running too thick to see through. Ethan sent a blast of wind into the waterfall, parting it, he could see the three soldiers from before, they had their backs turned to the waterfall, Ethan closed the waterfall before they could spot him and Undine. The soldiers' sets of armour were now dripping with water from Undine's distractions.

Now having a rough idea of where the soldiers were, Ethan approached the waterfall, he drew his flintlock with his left hand and held up his right, preparing to part the water again. Ethan quickly parted the waterfall once more and lined up his shot with the back of one of the soldier’s heads, the soldier without a helmet, he quickly cocked and fired the pistol. The bullet shot directly through the head of the soldier, he keeled over and fell into the water, the water around his head began to dye red. The loud bang of the pistol had definitely alerted the other two soldiers, they turned to face Ethan, each soldier was armed with a shield, one soldier held a sword and the other a mace.

Ethan continued to hold open the waterfall, he turned to Undine and signalled with his head for her pass through the gap in the waterfall, not fully aware that somebody of her species wouldn’t have much trouble with a waterfall. Ethan passed through the waterfall himself, holstered his gun and unsheathed his cutlass. Ethan’s mana reserves were running low.

"Alright then Captain," Undine held her legs wide with her hands inbetween as she sat, as she smiled and her fin-like ears flapped happily. "That is a pretty nice name..."

She then watched the captain use a wind blast of sorts to make an opening on the waterfall, allowing them to spot the soldiers. He then closed it, before shooting once again, causing the other soldiers to notice their arrival.
The captain opened some sort of hole once more to allow her to pass through.

"Sorry Captain, but I believe that this is a better choice..." Undine smirked as her breasts bounced with her great jump, as she blended into the waterfall, literally in it. She then dove into the water once more, before digging into the rocky surface underneath. In a matter of moments, the soldier holding the mace was sucked into the very earth beneath him, before he emerged from the water in a few seconds, only to get continuously slammed onto the rocky wall due a hand that emerged from it.

Artus leaned against the boulder, waiting a few moments before continuing along the path. He wanted to avoid any unnecessary confrontations with the two soldiers, as he was fairly sure that they were almost certainly looking for trouble. I should get going now… He thought to himself. Hopefully they’re out of the way. He had come too far to let a few soldiers get in the way. Kale was just beyond the forest, and he was willing to do anything to get there. Artus straightened up, and started to walk cautiously along the yellow, grassy path. It was clear that many travellers had been through this path over the years, as it was beaten, there were dead weeds laying around as if someone had stepped on them. Artus continued along a little more until he heard shouting noise coming from nearby. He put his hand on the handle of his sword, getting ready to draw it out in case of an attack. Where is it coming from? Artus walked slowly slightly off the path to the side, where it got noticeably narrow. The yelling was getting louder, and Artus could make out what they were saying.

“Who do you think you are, talking to me like that? You should really learn your place.” A girl spoke. Artus walked closer, and saw the two soldiers from earlier confronting a girl, around Artus’ age. She had dark blue hair tied into a ponytail, and was wearing a black tunic, with black leather boots. Artus observed a little longer, as he was unsure if he should help or not.

“Looks like this one has some attitude. Sounds like we could get a nice ransom for her as well.” Artus continued to observe, as one of the soldiers walked towards the girl. After the other soldier alerted his partner not to kill her, the dual had begun. The soldier and the girl clashed swords with each other, making metal clinks with each impact. The soldier continued to swing his rather large sword at her, while she deflected the shots. It was obviously wearing her down, not to mention it was a two-on-one match. Artus had enough.

Alright, this needs to end! Artus quickly saw a brief break from the soldiers attacks, giving Artus a chance to jump in. He drew his sword and entered the fight from side. He jumped in front of the girl and had his sword ready against the soldier.

“Where the hell did you come from?!” The soldier exclaimed. He gave a sour look and swung his sword at Artus, who in return raised his sword to block the attack. Artus gave a forceful push, forcing the soldier to back off a bit. Suddenly, the other soldier stepped in, standing next to his partner. He had his sword drawn as well. Artus knew these guys meant business now. They both ran up to him and attempted to swing their swords. Artus quickly stepped back out of caution until one of the soldiers came dangerously close to him. Artus quickly clenched his fist and forcefully and firmly planted it in his abdomen.

“Take this! Thunderbolt!” Artus’ fist quickly heated up, and let loose a bolt of electricity, causing a small explosion due to the close range between his hand and the soldiers body. Artus got knocked back a few feet and landed on his knee, while the soldier fell on the ground, attempting to get back up. That wasn't too smart of me...He thought. The armor covering the soldier’s stomach was cracked and broken from the impact. Artus looked at the other soldier who was cautiously walking towards them. Artus got up from his knee and turned around to the girl. “I’m gonna need some help here.”

"So.. I'm a necromancer, huh?" Keres said to himself while observing his orb. He knew nothing about the orbs origin, only that it did seem familiar, thus making him keep it. He was facinated byhow the dark energy within it reacted to how he moved his hands around it. keres closed hie eyes and let his hands flow gently around it, feeling the energy inside. Suddenly, he saw a bright flash. He opened his eyes again, and he could see soliders of the emperor entering the tavern. with them, they brought an eerie feeling of trouble. They talked loudly, and they spoke to the people inside. "We know you're in here, hiding! Don't think you'll get away!" Could they be speaking about him? Had he done them anything? He knew they were soliders of Emperor Diaz, and he did not like Diaz. He hated him, actually. But did he actually do something bad, and now he cannot remember? "You! In the corner!" The bright flash ended, and Keres' sight returned to normal. "What the..?" he said confused. What in the world was that? It was not a memory, for he had not met anyone else in the tavern. Then.. Was it the future? He could see the future?
Out of all his confusion, Keres noticed pretty much everyone in the tavern was looking strangely at him. So, they noticed his.. abscence then? "Hi..." Keres said without any hint of emotion, and felt a little embarassed.

So the orb is magical and enables me to see the future, huh?" Keres thought, staring at the orb again. This time, he could sense the familiar feeling again, and he heard chanting in his head. Without further thinking, he started chanting low himself, and the orb glowed in a mysterious dark light. Not much happened. "Well.. did anything happen?" He thought. He looked around, and noticed that the old man closest to him had fell asleep, and the others around him seemed a bit tired. Keres, however, felt great. He oozed with energy, and wanted to hurt someone badly. "A spell, huh?" he said, and a nun sitting near the entrance shouted something about Keres going to hell, and ran out the door as if satan himself was tailing her.

The fight continued in pretty much the same way with Natalia managing to keep enough of a distance to react to all swings of attackers’ swords. Then all of the sudden, another person unexpectedly joined the fight to help her out. It was a tall, black haired boy about her age. His clothes lacked style and did nothing to hide the fact he was a commoner.

He did however seem to know a thing or two about handling himself in a fight and immediately managed to push the soldiers back for a few seconds. He protected himself from the next assault using some lightning magic that threw both him and his target to the ground. He got up and then turned to Natalia. “I’m gonna need some help here.”

This is not the way this commoner should be talking to me. I guess he doesn’t know who he’s talking to, so I’ll let it slide this time. Anyway, I have to show him there’s no way someone like him can be stronger than me.

“Of course you are.” Natalia replied with an emotionless voice. She stepped in front of the boy and closed her eyes. Moments later, her chest lit up and released a blinding flash of light at the two attackers. The light disappeared almost instantly, but it did its job. When Natalia opened her eyes once again, both soldiers were covering their eyes with their hands and screaming as if their eyes were set on fire. Natalia concentrated a bit more and surrounded herself with wind that formed a Whirlwind Cloak. She then turned to the newcomer. “What are you waiting for? They won’t be blinded forever, you know?” She said a bit mockingly.“Let’s finish the job.”

Natalia slightly readjusted the way her fingers were wrapped around the handles and ran straight towards the nearest enemy. His head was protected by his hands, so she went for the torso. Her swords struck almost simultaneously, the added energy of the Whirlwind Cloak providing the extra power to leave relatively big cracks on the shiny armour and push the soldier a couple of feet away and knock him to the ground.

Ethan Daggett: Post 3

Ethan Daggett
A cave near a river, hidden by a waterfall
Meryl Forest

“Sorry Captain, but I believe this to be a better choice…” Said Undine as she leapt into the waterfall. Ethan watched in amazement as she once more dove into the water and subsequently into the earth below. Before he got too distracted, Ethan released the gap within the waterfall and turned to face the approaching soldier. The soldier was clearly one of Diaz’s, the black and gold armour could not be mistaken. The water was shallower in this area, but still a bit too deep to fight properly, Ethan backed away onto dry land, the soldier following him.

“Do you honestly think you have a chance?” The soldier taunted “I’m in full armour! I’m a trained soldier!” He laughed.
“Alright then,” Ethan smirked “Go ahead, take your shot” Ethan held his arms wide, an open shot. The soldier approached Ethan slowly, weighed down by his armour, he swung his sword towards Ethan, Ethan leaped backwards, dodging the blade. The soldier stepped forwards and slashed at Ethan once more, this time the blade cut Ethan’s hip, although the cut wasn’t too deep. The soldier scowled at Ethan, He then thrust the sword forwards, attempting to stab Ethan, Ethan dodged to the right of the blade. Before the soldier could react Ethan whacked the soldier’s sword aside with his cutlass, disarming the solder.
“I choose to wear no armour for a reason, you know.” Ethan said as he walked towards the soldier, the soldier scrambled for his sword. Ethan sent a blast of wind forwards, knocking the soldier to the ground, Ethan could sense that he had run out of mana. Ethan lifted up his leg and held his foot down on the soldier’s chest, pinning him down. He pulled off the soldier’s helmet; there was a look of panic upon the soldier’s face.
“Please, no, no, no.” The soldier pleaded “I’m sorry, I’ll leave you alone”
“You know, for some reason I don’t believe you” Ethan said, as he sheathed his cutlass and drew his dagger from the inside of his coat.
“You ought to watch who you’re messing with.” Ethan said, he then quickly thrust the dagger into the soldier’s throat, it was a quick death, at least.

Ethan turned to see how Undine was doing, he saw the remaining soldier getting repeatedly slammed against a wall, she seemed to be handling herself fine. Ethan drew his dagger once more and began approaching the remaining soldier, to finish the job.

Flintlock Ammo: 2/3

Samantha, you mentioned that your character's people are peaceful, and generally don't fight. I wasn't sure whether your character would kill the remaining soldier herself, let Ethan do it or stop Ethan from killing him all together. Feel free to bunny Ethan slitting the Soldier's throat if Undine does decide to let Ethan kill him. Or if she decides to stop Ethan from killing the soldier, then you can Bunny him stopping in his tracks. Or of course, if Undine kills the soldier herself, then there won't be much bunnying necessary.

Coelnar was running. Images kept buffeting his mind, and every time he heard a noise he would startle, fearing a soldier crashing through the bushes, or an arrow shooting past the trees. His logical side told him that he was being stupid, that they wouldn't spend time chasing a single escapee, but his imagination was running away with him, and he kept replaying the events of the last few hours in his head. His people captured, his father dead, and somehow, the worst thing of all was that it was his own stupid fault. If I hadn't lost it, my father would still be alive... So he thought, in any case. The other thing that really stood out though, had been the look on the face of the soldier as Coelnar had struck him down. He probably had a family. People who cared about him, as I cared for my family. And I killed him.

Coelnar stopped, panting, as he finally reached the edge of the forest. He needed water, and rest, but he wasn't sure where to find it. This part of the mountain was unfamiliar to him, as the expanse before him was pure white snow, dotted by jagged rocks, and ending with steep cliffs that reached down towards an open plain miles below. The worst thing, though, was that in the distance he could see the outfits of the soldiers, their attack heading across the mountain. He struggled to keep himself from getting angry again. His first priority was water, but he couldn't risk trying to sneak past the soldiers, who could easily overpower him. Coelnar looked around, his eyes eventually fixing on the only visible source of water; A lake on the plains.

But the soldiers were blocking the path, and there was no other way to get water, which left him only one option. He would somehow have to scale the cliff, and make his way down to the plains. As he reached the edge, it soon dawned that the cliff was even steeper than he'd though, but what choice was there? Steeling his courage, Coelnar grabbed hold of a jutting rock, and swung himself down, so that he was hanging on the cliff face.

((OOC: As I am tired and cannot think properly; therefore, I apologize in advance for the quality of this post. Anyways, discussion thread please? To keep me from forgetting, I’m going to keep track of the cooldown time on Dark Sight. Right now: Dark Sight is available.))

AimeDay of attack
Asker Ikakois

“Asher…once you can control this spell fully, please depart from this town. It will be the safest thing for both of us; the army of Diaz is unreasonable and will not spare anyone if we do not surrender,” Asher’s creator began, worry obvious in his voice as he glanced nervously out the window, and continued, “and if they discover that you can learn as a human does whilst not being one, then….” He was worried for Asher, and fairly certainly that the artificial nature of the construct’s body would be evident if one were to examine him closely – already some of the mages of the invading army were expressing a worrying interest in Asher. Perhaps they had noticed his strange aversion to water, except when drinking it, and the odd combination of brown skin and silver eyes.

“Do you plan on escaping, yourself?” Asher asked, the words engraving themselves on his plate of metal. It was a plate for it would not attract attention if one carried around a plate in his pack. If his creator was not accompanying him in his escape, then Asher would not even attempt to run away. “I cannot venture outside without Diaz’s army staring at me,” he complained.

Asher looked down to the floor, and then looked back at his creator. The room was dark, the walls sparse, the bare minimum of furniture was present, the kitchen stocked with only enough to sustain the pair until the next week: the invading army, for all of their talk of cooperation, had deprived the citizens of Aime of all but the essentials. Soldiers would regularly patrol the streets and barge into houses uninvited to “keep the peace”, but everyone knew that that was only a thinly veiled excuse to suppress what could have been any resistance. The windows of every house could be seen only as panes of glass with dark sheets of cloth covering them as to obscure the activities of those inside.

“Asher, don’t concern yourself with me,” the old man said, “I’ve lived a long time, and my life has been very satisfactory. I am sorry for not leaving this town when news came that Diaz was invading; somehow, the imminent invasion was forgotten by me, selfishly, so that I could continue with my research. All that for naught…” he trailed off. “I’ll teach you that spell to escape the town’s confines, but it will work only in the darkness.” He ran his left hand through his thinning hair while looking down at the table, and let his hand slip down to his side. He smiled at his creation as he said, “Asher…I will not be coming with you as you escape.”

The words on the lump of metal that Asher was holding became unintelligible scribbles as he stared at his master in disbelief. A series of exclamation points and question marks formed themselves upon the metal.

“Asher. I have lived a long time, but you may live forever. When I last preformed maintenance on your core I entrusted it with half of my mana supply,” his creator said, unable to think of how to calm his creation down. He neglected to tell the construct that he had also “updated” the personality to loathe Diaz and his followers unconditionally. The command for “destroy Diaz” had much flexibility; it neither caused suicidal urges to rampage, nor did it make Asher hate the people who were unwillingly following Diaz.

A few hours later, past midnight, Asher had, rather unwillingly, learned Dark Sight. As his core made him obey his creator absolutely, he had to learn the spell, no matter how much he disliked doing so. A strange feeling of hatred for Diaz had welled up in him, but he did not desire to act upon that feeling.

The old man looked around anxiously, for if one of the soldiers had gotten word of the plan to escape, then they would surely both die. “Asher, it’s going to be dawn soon, you should get going. A single touch of sunlight will dispel Dark Sight, so you best hurry,” he implored Asher.

Asher shook his head and stood still. He was not going to move an inch unless his master was coming with him. He then felt the core commanding him to leave and, as he could not disobey the core, he took slow and trudging steps towards the door. His body shook from his effort to stay still and remain within the house. In the end, he could not prevent his legs from carrying him out the door and into the street with Dark Sight active. He looked back at his house with tears in his eyes as he gave up the fight with the core and ran. He cried as he ran, passing by patrolling soldiers. He now hated them now, his hatred growing every step he took away from his home.

Meryl ForestAsher Ikakois

The forest’s leaf-litter crunched beneath his feet as Asher slowly walked aimlessly. It had been four days since he had ran from Diaz’s army, but he still had not calmed down. He had tried to think about his abandonment of Aime rationally, but it had been impossible – his mind had been fogged by the memory of his creator resigning to death. Every snap of branches that he did not cause was no longer a trigger for him to look around wildly in the fear that the army was pursuing him; it never was in the first place. He was a lone deserter, surely only one would not matter. He had not seen anyone, but he did not care.

Asher began to hear things as he was approaching a clearing. A strangely-clothed person fleeing from the inside of a tavern startled him, but it did not move him from his spot. Asher decided to sneak up to one of the windows and catch a glimpse of what was happening inside. He saw a dark-clothed person gazing into a crystal orb with a strange smile on his face and the other patrons of the bar slightly drowsy. ’Why is there a tavern here?’ Asher wondered, realizing that bars did not appear randomly out in the wilderness. Well, there were two ways to find out how the tavern had got to be there – ask the people inside, or lurk in wait for an answer. The second option seemed more pleasant and less frightening to him, but would require entering the tavern. It was becoming dark, and he wished to stay inside that night, as an ominous and irrational feeling crept over him. Asher dug up what was left of his resolve and headed inside the bar after pausing at the door for a few moments.

The door opened without a noise from its hinges as Asher gently pushed on it. A maid noticed him and directed him to sit down a table or so away from a person who was playing around with a large, spherical crystal object. Magic seemed to be emanating from it as the person smiled and gazed into its depths.

Asher dug in his pack as the maid hovered near him, ready to take his order. Once he had located his lump of metal, he concentrated on the lump of metal and a sentence wrote itself upon it, “I would like a glass of water and a room for the night.” The maid took a moment to read what it said and then disappeared to fetch him his water. The room seemed darker than outside, yet it had lights. People were feeling drowsy, but Asher was either not yet affected, or he was not going to be affected.

((OOC: Elysian, you can start the confrontation with the soldiers.))

Originally Posted by bobandbill

Originally Posted by zomegax7249

So now it's not enough that we beat the NPCs, now we have to steal their clothes as well? Isn't this basically mugging them?

Suddenly the aim of the Pokémon games is apparent. It isn't to catch them all, or to be the best trainer, or to learn about the values of friendship with strange monsters that can breathe fire and whatnot.

Undine continued to slam the soldier repeatedly. On one side of her mind, she was a peaceful person, on the other, she felt vengeful against the troops who murdered the Great Aqua Tribe. The thought of such things caused her to smash him harder. Running out of mana, she embedded him into the rock, just before Ethan could stab him, just before she came out. The soldier was alive, but probably not well. At least she didn't have to kill anyone like that. She wasn't the brightest bulb in the sea, but she had a heart as deep as it. Seemingly, or so she thought she was doing the right thing.

The muffled voice of the soldier could be heard through the rock. Ah well, let's wish the guy some luck.

Undine then turned to the dead bodies of the other two soldiers. She gasped for a while, before she calmed down. I guess there are nice yet brutal people... Undine thought. This 'Captain Ethan' was full of mystery. Noting that him, as well as she, were low on mana, she used the little mana she had left to hold the Captain's hand and travel up the waterfall, back into the cavern. "I believe we should rest for now. We are both low on mana... say, I wonder why you kill so much..."

Undine then closed her eyes as her bare, defenseless body laid there. She had fallen asleep, for she was tired.

“Of course you are.” The girl replied. Artus glanced back, and saw the girl jump in front of him. Her chest started to glow, and in an instant, it shot out a bright light that temporarily blinded the soldiers. They covered their eyes and started to cry in pain. The girl then proceeded to use another magic spell. She became lightly shrouded in mana, and then became covered with a cloak of wind. Artus figured it was some sort of ‘power-up’ move, that would increase stats. The girl turned to Artus. “What are you waiting for? They won’t be blinded forever, you know?” She was obviously acting superior to Artus, but he knew now wasn’t the time to debate anything. “Let’s finish the job”. She concluded. She ran up to one of the soldiers, and attacked the soldier’s torso, breaking his armor, and knocking him backwards to the ground.

Damn, she’s got moves… Artus thought. There was no way he was going to be shown up by a girl, not now, not ever. “My turn!” Artus quickly ran up to the other remaining soldier, and swung his sword. His opponent blocked it using his own swod, and they exchanged a few more swings before Artus backed up. Time for my trump card… He thought. He focused his mana into his sword, and it started to emanate a blue aura, signaling that mana was passing through and channeling in that one area. Suddenly, the blade started to transform, and became shrouded in bright light. It became slightly longer, but more slender, and was covered in electricity, letting loose small sparks. Artus made a slight grin, in an attempt to show off. Let’s see her top that! He excitedly thought to himself. He looked at the girl, and then the soldier, who was backing off slightly. Artus had him at edge, there was no way he was going to lose this.

“Alright take this!” Artus ran up to the soldier, and swung his Electric Blade. The soldier suddenly jumped to the left, and dodged Artus’ attack, and retaliated by swinging his own blade. Artus quickly raised his sword, clashing with the soldier’s, knocking his sword out of his hands, and into the ground multiple feet away. Time for the finishing blow! Artus didn’t want to kill the man, but hopefully knock some sense into him, so he aimed for the body, hopefully crushing his remaining armor, and rendering him out of the fight. Artus gave forceful swing, making contact with his body. The attack created a small explosion, engulfing the two in smoke. The soldier went flying backwards, rolling on the ground and went into a progressive stop. Artus’ sword immediately retreated back into its original state, as the smoke cleared. Artus looked at the soldier, who was visibly injured, bleeding in various places, as well as his broken armor. The soldier attempted to get up, cussing at Artus and the girl.

“You bastard! You’re gonna pay for this…. you and that girl. You don’t mess with Diaz.” He said, as he grabbed his partner on by the arm, and dragged him up. “Get up! We’re getting out of here…” They said, weakly walking away. Artus was slightly shaken up by the whole fiasco, mostly because that was probably his first, major fight. He wasn’t much of a fighter, but he did know a few moves that he picked up. He watched as the soldiers slowly disappeared behind the trees. Artus wasn’t going after them, as easy as they would be to kill. They did their job of teaching the soldiers not to pick random fights. He turned to the girl.

“Hey, we make a pretty good team, don't we?.” He said smiling, trying to make some conversation. “I’m Artus by the way. Artus Callum.” He said as he waved his hand. “Are you going to Kale as well? We can go together if you want, it’ll be safer and less lonely.” He tried to not sound like a creep. He was the type of person that would rather travel alone, but honestly, traveling with someone else would be a nice change, and chance to make some friends.

Ethan Daggett: Post 4

Ethan Daggett
A river
Meryl Forest

Before Ethan could react, his hand was grabbed, and Undine once again Pulled him back into the cave, this time up the waterfall. Great… This again… Ethan thought sarcastically to himself.
“I believe we should rest for now. We are both low on mana” Undine said, the pair then landed upon the ground of the cavern “Say, I wonder why you kill so much…” she continued. Before Ethan could even reply, Undine lay on the ground and fell asleep.

Ethan observed the woman more closely; he now noticed that in place of ears, she had what appeared to be fins. Near both her hands and her feet she her skin appeared scale-like.She’s certainly not human… Ethan thought to himself. Ethan’s thoughts were soon interrupted by a piercing pain in his hip
“S**t…” He mumbled to himself, the wound from earlier was worsening; Ethan would have to patch it up before he lost too much blood. He rummaged through his coat pockets for bandages, before tossing the coat aside onto the damp cave floor. He lifted up his shirt and observed the wound. It wasn’t too deep, nor too long, Ethan had definitely suffered worse. Still, it would be unwise to leave it unattended to. Ethan wound the bandage around his hip until it felt tight enough for the wound to be contained, He tied the bandage and lowered his shirt.

Ethan sat and thought for a while about his plans, he was unsure about his next move. Was he to continue on his journey to Kale and leave this crazy fish lady by herself? Undine certainly seemed capable of handling herself, though for that very reason Ethan also considered waiting for her to awake. Her skills could be useful to Ethan.

Ethan observed Undine, she was definitely asleep, and there was no way of telling how long it would take for her to wake up.
“Eh, I don’t have time for this.” Ethan sighed; he stood up and grabbed his coat, he put it back on again. Ethan walked towards the cave exit.

When Natalia’s opponent fell to the ground, the boy charged towards the other soldier shouting “My turn!” He swung his sword towards the attacker. The soldier’s eyesight had already returned and was able to block the strike. After the two exchanged some blows, before backing of for a bit to charge his sword with electricity. He was obviously very proud of this move, as he looked at Natalia with a grin to show off before engaging the enemy once again. Not before another lame battle cry, though. “Alright take this!” He then proceeded to miss the soldier competely.

He has no finesse, no elegance. He spouts some confident shouts and then he can’t back them up with his actions.

Eventually, the boy managed to disarm his opponent before hitting him in the torso and knocking him to the ground with a small explosion. After the blow, the boy’s sword returned to its original condition. The pair of soldiers finally had enough and limped away after threatening with revenge. Natalia undid the Whirlwind Cloak and sheathed her swords.

“Hey, we make a pretty good team, don't we?” The boy said to Natalia with a smile before introducing himself. “I’m Artus by the way. Artus Callum. Are you going to Kale as well? We can go together if you want, it’ll be safer and less lonely.”

Natalia was appalled by the way he was addressing her. On top of that, she wasn’t entirely sure what she preferred, travelling all alone and risking further attacks or being accompanied by someone like him. The thought of a bodyguard who would work for free was appealing, though, no matter how unskilled he was.

“Yes, you proved to be just the distraction I needed to defeat them.” Natalia answered looking at her nails rather than Artus. “I’m Natalia Denar. Surely, you’ve heard of our family, we’re one of the richest in the country.” She eventually looked at him, though only from the corner of her eyes to see how he would react to her surname while putting on a smug smile. “Kale is indeed where I’m going, for now at least. I guess I could allow you to accompany me on the way.” Even though Natalia would never actually admit it, a part of her was secretly hoping Artus would come along.

Coelnar was struggling to hang on to the jutting rock, and his arms screeched in pain from the effort. He desperately started looking around for a foothold, but couldn't see any nearby. This was a really, really bad idea. he reflected. He doubted he had the strength to pull himself back up, and his search became ever more desperate as he felt his grip starting to slide off of the stone. Finally, he caught sight of a ledge a couple of meters below. He could makeit, but he'd likely be hurt. Of course, he could heal himself, but it was never a pleasant experience nevertheless. Regardless, there didn't seem to be any other choice, so he gritted his teeth, and with a grunt of pain, swung himself across.

There was a terrifying moment of freefall, during which he was terrified that he'd missed the ledge. Not that he was thrilled when he slammed into the ledge, landing badly on his wrist with a sickening crack. His eyes widened, and he cried out as he saw how his hand was twisted. Still, the soldiers didn't seem to notice, not that they were paying much attention to watching for foes. Coelnar examined his injury more closely, and realized that it wasn't quite as serious as he'd thought. He slowly brought his other hand across and rested it gently on the injury.

A soft white glow began emanating from his fingertips, making his skin seem ghostly pale. It was worse when he had to heal himself, because the spell was less intense in a way. It took the same amount of time to heal, but he was aware of what was happening, and if he looked too hard, he'd swear that he could see the bones shifting underneath his skin, an image which made him shudder with revulsion. The healing took fifteen minutes, though to Coelnar, it felt like longer, and his wrist still felt weak. He wondered if it had really been worth it. Once he was fed and watered, where could he go?Wherever the wind takes me, I suppose. Coelnar thought, as he swung his leg over the edge of the ledge, and began slowly climbing back down.

The climb was easier from then on. The cliff face was riddled with crevices and cracks which made it easy to find a hold on the stone. The nearest he came to falling was near enough to the ground that he wasn't at too much risk of injury, when he put his hand on a jutting rock only for it to be pulled out of the surrounding dirt with a shower of gravel and pebbles that flew in his eyes, making it near impossible to see anything for the last few meters of the climb.

The amount of relief he felt when his feet touched the ground was huge, and he decided that he would try his hardest to avoid doing that again. It was an experience, granted, but one that he'd rather lock up with the rest of his memories, and not think about again, for a long while. Despite this, there was a certain thrill when he looked up at the scale of his climb, and a peaceful smile on his face when he gazed across the plains. Finally, I can leave those forsaken soldiers behind me. For now. Someday, I will take revenge for my people. If I can, I'll be the one to slit their throats, I swear. he told himself, staring up at the sky, which by now was dark and cloudy, with a few stars peering between the gaps. I swear.

Keres kept staring into his Crystal orb, somehow sucking the energy out of the people of the tavern, and gaining it himself. He did feel all fired up, and knew that if he continued, he would most likely kill all the others in the tavern. Suddenly, he felt a change in the flow of energy. Instead of recieving the usual energy, he could feel something different. Someone in the tavern wasn't human. He looked up from the orb, and felt all the energy go back to its original owners as he stopped sapping them. nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, except from a newcommer being guided by the fat maid over to a different corner of the tavern. He looked weird; He did not have any shoes on, and he looked very.. brown. Brown clothing, brown, long hair etc. "What an interesting individual" Keres thought. It appeared the difference in his magical Orb came from this person, thus making him the non-human being he had noticed earlier. He gave a sign to the maid, and had her come over. "Who is that guy in the corner there?" he asked her directly. She was startled by his voice, and answered: "Boy, I don' know who that is, and I ain't gonna find out. Y'al crazy people, with your mysterious behaviours!" and she went on about how nothing was normal around there.

Later that night, Keres had finally fallen asleep, and dreamt of curses. He suddenly woke up, and saw that two men stood over him. They appeared to be armored, and they looked down at him with a hint of arrogance in their eyes. "Get up, pretty boy!" one of them snarled, and the other one took his legs and dragged him out of the bed. Confused by the entire happening, Keres didn't have any time to respond, nor did he have the energy to do so. Hie eyesight quickly adapted to the darkness of the night, and he was placed in a cage outside the tavern, and saw that some of the others from last night was there as well. Soliders came out of the tavern with a lot of others, some drunk, some extremely drunk, and some they had beaten pretty bad. "What is the meaning of this?!" Keres said directly to one of the soliders guarding the cage. "Emperors orders!" He answerd strictly. "Now, shut up". He threw a rock at the cage, and it hit Keres in the head, and he felt his anger piling up. he then started chanting something he had heard from his dream, and a small ball of fire took form in his palm. luckily, he had not undressed when he went to bed the night before, so he had his weapon on him. attaching the claws, he held the fireball in his other hand, close to the bars of the cage, and felt a satisfied glee when they started melting.

After some more of the bars melted, Keres was free, and his first thought was to flee the area. However, he noticed that the non-human brown guy from last night seemed to have some troubles. He didn't speak, but he was being badly beaten by two guards. Why wasn't he defending himself? "Here!" Keres said loud, holding out his clawed hand. A dim light appeared out of nowhere, and his Orb came flying in a quick flash, gently hovering in his hand. It wasn't like him to help others, but that non-human character seemed interesting, and could prove to be a good ally, if necessary. Keres quickly appeared behind the first guard, like a shadow, under his cape, and sliced his throat with his right hand. Before the two others could react, he sent the orb straight into the secound guards face, and he fell over and didn't move. The last guard were frightened by Keres, and stopped beating the guy, and ran off to get his sword. Keres took this time to chant another spell from his dream, and the orb glew in a purple light, before the first guard he took down, rose up, his eyes completely black. Speaking an unknown language, Keres told him to go after the guard who ran off, and the revenant obeyed. After that, Keres held out his hand to the non-human guy, offering to help him up.

OoC: Basically, she sort of turned the water into ice for a split-second by controlling it. That's the easiest way to word it. No romantic feelings have emerged yet, only pet-master feelings.

Undine Pandora AquaMeryl Forest

Undine had a dream. That dream again. Her tribe being genocided by the troops. Now that she thought of it, she looked at things from an optimistic point of view and had one more goal - to find another member of her tribe.
That caused her to wake up. "Huh?" she felt pretty dazed. Next thing she knew, the Captain was leaving the cave. Just before he could attempt to go through the water, she stiffened the water for a while, just in time for the Captain to be unable to phase through it.

"Wait," Undine's face saddened, "I just met you and want to know more about you..."
With that, Undine then summoned a water whip into the deep depths of the cavern, and pulled out her silky cloth, which she used to tie around her waist. She then went down the waterfall, before adding two pure white seashells to her chest, conveniently censoring herself. She couldn't smell any more soldiers.

In general, she disliked taling, but she had gained a liking to the Captain, although it was closer to how an animal would feel towards a human who rescued it than a crush. "Let us speak on the way..."

“Yes, you proved to be just the distraction I needed to defeat them.” The girl said, observing her nails.

Yeah, right…. Artus thought. He knew she was probably just trying to get him rustled up. And besides, Artus found that kind of funny.

“I’m Natalia Denar. Surely you’ve heard of our family, we’re one of the richest in the country.” She gave Artus a smug smile, and looked at him from the corner of her eye. Artus widened his eyes a bit. If she really was part of the Denar family, than what was she doing here all alone? Artus didn’t know the specifics of her family name, but he had in fact, heard of her family. Almost everyone has, they were famous for being extremely successful businesspeople. They were pretty well known in the bigger districts, and they even owned the farmland near Artus’ hometown. “Kale is indeed where I am going, for now at least. I guess I could allow you to accompany me on the way.”

Artus was lost in thought, still in awe that he ran into someone from the Denar family. Not to mention it was in the most unlikely of places. “Uhhh…right. Yeah I’ll come with you.” He said, snapping out of his train of thought. “I mean it’ll be a nice change to travel with someone rather than be alone.” He didn’t bother asking what she was doing all alone, as she didn’t really seem like the type of person that would open up so soon. “Alright, I guess we better get going then.” Artus sheathed his sword and tightened his belt up, and they started to walk along the path, following it eventually out of Meryl Forest.

------------------------

KaleArtus & Natalia

Artus and Natalia eventually made it to a small arch, held by two small, but thick, brick pillars. There was sign on the arch that read, “Kale”, in ornate writing that made it look organic. This is it. Thought Artus. The main reason for coming to Kale was so he could find a new place to live, and hopefully get some sort of job. He knew it wasn’t a rural place like Nalan, so any type of farm-work would be out of the question, but hopefully he could do something that would make a good living. He knew Natalia was loaded, but Artus was no businessman. He probably couldn’t even sell a bottle of water to someone. “Alright let’s go inside.” He said to Natalia. They started to walk under the archway and into the city. Right away Artus noticed something odd. Kale is a city that is usually bustling with activity, such as merchants, kids playing, people running errands, but for some reason the place was nearly empty. There were a couple of old people sitting down near a large fountain, as well as a couple of soldiers from Kale standing about, mingling. One of them took a look at Artus and Natalia, and walked up to them.

“Hey, you folks should leave. This is not the time for any visitors.” The soldier spoke. It was obvious he was a soldier of Kale, due to his pale, light blue armor. He had short, dirty blonde hair, and carried a basic spear. Artus wasn’t sure why they were trying to get them out of Kale, but from the depressing mood of the city, it may have not been a bad idea. He wasn’t the type to question authority, but Artus had travelled too far to just go back.

“Uhhh…I’m not trying to be rude, but what’s the problem?” Artus spoke with a slight hint of hesitation. He didn’t want to get off the wrong foot with these soldiers. “I just wanna talk with Kazu…King Kazu I mean, sorry.” Artus wasn’t used to talking to royalty, so he often forgot to use titles.

“Look, if I gave everyone who came here access to speak with him, we’d have another unnecessary problem on our hands. I’m gonna guess you want some sort of request like money?” The soldier suddenly changed his tone to a more irritated sort of voice and let out a sigh. “I’m not forcing you to leave. If you want to stay, the inn is right over there. It may not be the comfiest place, but it’s cheap. But I'm strongly encouraging you folks to leave as soon as possible.” The soldier gave his words and walked off.

Artus wasn’t expecting anything like that to happen when he imagined coming to Kale. He thought the King would be waiting to welcome anyone with open arms. Well…I guess that’s it. He thought. I come all this way, and end up being stuck with some stuck-up rich girl, and then almost get forced out of Kale… He wasn’t happy with the results, but there was nowhere else he could go. He may as well stay at the inn. He turned around to Natalia. “Well, looks like I’m screwed.” He let out a sigh. “So, you got anything you want to do while we’re here? I mean we can look around and explore few places if you want. If not, I plan on staying at the inn for tonight and you’re welcome to stay if you want. I’m pretty sure I got enough money for the both of us.” Artus thought for a second and realized he just offered to pay rent for a girl who’s family was one of the richest in the country. But still, it was the gentlemanly thing to do, and the offer was still there.

Coelnar made it to the lake a couple of hours later, and was grateful for the opportunity to drink. There was easy hunting too, as animals from all around the plains gathered there for water. The hardest task was to make a fire, as all the nearby wood was damp. The few times he made a pile with it, it wouldn't light, no matter how hard he tried. This was a problem, as he couldn't risk eating his fresh-caught rabbit raw. He'd seen what happened to people who ate raw meat, and it was... Unpleasant, to say the least. Eventually, he gave up, and resigned himself to a hungry night. Still, he was exhausted, and as he lay down, his eyes closed easily, and he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

The next morning...

Coelnar woke to find himself covered in grass, and soaked to the skin. It must have rained during the night, he thought, examining the mud plastered to his hands. I need to decide where to go, I suppose.. he told himself. Still, there was no hurry. He decided to wash first. With the state he was in now, any traveler he met would think he was a savage of some sort. It didn't seem that many people headed this way, though. His best chance would be to follow the dirt road that ran across the plains. With any luck, there'd be a sign somewhere along it. Not that he'd been too lucky lately.

After he washed, Coelnar felt like he had far more energy, and was finally ready to set off. He slotted his axe into its sheath, and pulled it over his back. The soldiers were long gone, and there didn't appear to be any predators nearby. Still, better safe than sorry, he supposed, as he headed towards the road with a dry chuckle. He smiled to himself. Once he found somewhere to stay, things would surely get better.

He reached the road within a few minutes, and started walking along at a leisurely pace. Now that he looked, the plains weren't as wide as he'd originally thought, and he realized that crossing them would take him a day at most. A day almost felt like too long, though. He quickly grew bored, because aside from the lake and road, the plains were basically featureless, the only changes in scenery a couple of small hills, or a passing rabbit. He missed having someone to talk to, and hoped that there was a city nearby. Something stood out in his memory. Occasionaly, a few of the villlagers would take one of the carts down to a nearby city, to sell clothes and food, in return for money. That meant there had to be a city somewhere around here, for sure.

After a couple of hours, he reached a fork in the road, with an old looking sign pointing towards one of the paths. 'Kale' was written on it, in scrappy, badly carved letters. Not very professional, Coelnar thought with a sigh. Would a little craftsmanship be too much to ask, really? He recognized the name, though, and decided that it would be the best way to go. Shaking his head in exasperation, he turned, and began heading down the path to Kale.

Ethan Daggett: Post 5

Captain Ethan Daggett
Meryl Forest

Just as Ethan was about to leave, the running water froze, he was trapped, so Undine had woken up after all?
“Wait,” She said “I just met you and I want to know more about you… Let us speak on the way” She said.

The pair then set off north towards kale, Ethan slung his coat over his shoulder, as it was too wet and uncomfortable for now.
“So you want to know more about me, eh?” Ethan said to Undine as they walked. “Well, I'm Ethan Daggett, but you already knew that. Not much to talk about to be honest" He lied "Born and raised in a hell-hole by the name of Port Dernsway during my childhood. I spent the rest of my life travelling, I was a sailor you see.” Ethan didn't want to fully tell Undine about his life quite yet, if she learned of it he could lose her trust.
“So what about yourself?” He asked, “Your ears, I can tell that you’re certainly not human. And why exactly were that bastard Diaz's men after you?" Ethan noticed that the trees in the forest were beginning to thin out; they must have been nearing Kale by now.